Easy ideas for bringing people together

From time to time we like to highlight helpful features on VolunteerSpot that can save you even more time. Today, please meet the Thank You Note feature.

Here's a convenient way to send Thank You notes to volunteers with just a few clicks.

Open your activity in the MyActivities tab and click the Send Thank You icon to the left of the activity status calendar.

Choose to send a message to all your volunteers, or choose to send a note to just those signed up for specific days, or by their status - such as 'signed up'.

Go ahead, give thanks - it's easy!

3 Tips for saying thank you to volunteers

Be Timely. Thank volunteers soon after their service. For volunteers with regular ongoing shifts, make an effort to recognize volunteers monthly.

Be Specific. Let volunteers know how their service makes a difference. How many kids did they help learn to read? How many families were fed? How many trees were planted? How much money was raised for your cause?

Be Sincere. Use "I" statements.

E.g.: "I appreciate your help with the Auction on Saturday! Together, we raised $25,000 for new playground equipment. That's going to make a lot of kids very happy for years to come, starting with yours! Thank you!"

We're pleased to recognize our VolunteerSpot community serving in their places of worship. From organizing the hospitaly committee serving coffee and donuts each Sunday, to special services for High Holy Days, to service projects like flood relief and meals ministry, to fun events like parish carnivals and VBS - in faith communities volunteer leaders are most often volunteers themselves.

Please welcome our guest Sue Brage, editor of Church Volunteer Daily. Twice a month she'll be sharing best practices and fresh ideas that make volunteering with your faith community (or school or nonprofit) even more fun and rewarding. Today's article was originally posted on Church Volunteer Daily, and we loved it so much, we thought it a great way to kick off our new series.

Don't Serve Stale Donuts

By Sue Brage

Can I challenge your thinking a little today? There are some simple things you can do to freshen up your ministry. However, before I share those, let’s lay a foundation for why improvements and “tweaks” will benefit your church, your ministry, and your volunteer team.

You may be asking yourself, why bother changing something that works? I understand. You may also be thinking, why spend money for no reason. I also get that. However, there are many things you can do to refresh your ministry, by making some simple tweaks and updates…and without breaking the bank.

To clarify, I’m not just talking about building and grounds updates. You may need to refresh your programs, your training events, how you serve coffee and donuts. Every area of ministry can get stale from time to time (even the donuts!) It’s wise to make improvements when you can to keep things fresh and moving forward.

I believe there are three reasons church volunteer leaders (and church leadership as a whole) should work to keep things fresh…

New creates momentum. This is a leadership principle that holds true in a church setting. If you want to create a buzz, do something new in your ministry. Paint the walls. Organize the library or storage room. Plan a new program or event. Even the smallest action can create a buzz! And this buzz will create energy, momentum, and excitement.

Attention communicates respect. This principle is true in every area of our lives, from our cars, to our houses, to our relationships, and most certainly to our churches. Caring for what we have shows that we respect what God has given us. And caring for our ministries shows that we respect the position he has placed us in…and the people He’s called us to serve.

Your actions show what you truly value. Now, if you are thinking of updating your environment, does this mean you value your building? Well, in a way yes. But even more, it shows that you value the people in your church and those you serve with.

I hope this gives you something to think about that will help you will identify an area or two in your ministry that could use to be updated.

Sue Brage worked in nonprofit marketing and communications for more than nine years before joining Group Publishing as Online Publisher and Editor for Church Volunteer Daily.com. Her experience as a writer, editor, and volunteer coordinator (not to mention wife and mother) gives her a unique perspective and ability to encourage and help leaders. She has a big heart for people and great passion for helping others serve their churches and communities better. Follow Sue on Twitter and @SueBrage and @CVCDaily

By Gina Kearney

Sponsored post

Everyone loves t-shirts and when they support your cause or volunteering event, they’re simply adored.

Why?

Buying a t-shirt is a common, everyday act, and we all enjoy helping others in ways that feel comfortable. How often do you see people wearing a t-shirt promoting a cause (Save the Whales, Autism Speaks, Think Local Act Global) or event (I Walk for Breast Cancer, Support Haiti)? That shirt means something to the wearer and communicates to others that they participate - they care.

Printed apparel raises awareness of an event and gets others talking. It allows for your fundraiser to extend past the class or boardroom and into the personal lives of volunteers, supporters and their friends.

2. T-shirts build camaraderie and group identity.

Give one person a shirt, and they’ll thank you. Give a group matching shirts and they’ll wear them with pride, unity and gratitude for the event that brought them together – and beyond.

3. T-shirt fundraisers increase profit.

T-shirts offer significant profit, often starting at $5 or more per shirt. This means that the sale of just a few items per seller can quickly add up to significant group profits.

ContestCause.com is a new website determined to make fundraising, well, fun. It allows individuals, groups, teams, classes or any organization to run their own fundraising design contest for any cause or event. They even give you your own web address!

Once created, friends are invited to create t-shirt designs, using a simple online tool, vote daily for their favorite, and pre-order the winning shirt to support the cause.

It takes just minutes to set up. Then, ContestCause handles everything from running the contest to producing the customized, winning t-shirt and shipping direct to your supporters.

All you have to do is invite volunteers, colleagues and friends to participate using email or Facebook.

It’s free to join or run a T-shirt design contest and one third of all sales go right back to your fundraiser… That’s right! You get $6.50 per shirt!

Congregation Beth Emeth is a welcoming and dynamic Conservative Jewish congregation serving Western Fairfax and Eastern Loudoun counties in Northern Virginia. Beth Emeth encourages a sense of ownership and belonging that includes learning, participation and volunteerism.

Today, our VolunteerSpotlight shines on Ted Benjamin, who uses VolunteerSpot to coordinate volunteer ushers during the High Holy Days.

I am a member of Congregation Beth Emeth which is a Jewish Conservative Synagogue in Herndon Virginia. For several years, I have organized the ushering signup for the Jewish High Holiday services at our Synagogue. Our High Holidays consist of several days of extensive prayer and reflection over many hours in which essentially the entire synagogue membership attends. The usher volunteers are situated throughout the Synagogue Building and help maintain an environment that enhances the prayer and spiritual experience. I am responsible for filling up more than 150 time/location usher spots to congregation members.

How did you get started as a volunteer leader?

I had been volunteering as an usher for several years and when the former organizer was looking for a replacement, I volunteered to take over this leadership role.

Why did you decide to use VolunteerSpot?

Before using VolunteerSpot, we used a signup on our synagogue web site which was non-real time. There were many scheduling conflicts, and this system required constant monitoring and involved hours of manual spreadsheet manipulation. This past year, our website manager suggested VolunteerSpot which turned out to be great advice. VolunteerSpot eliminated schedule conflicts and greatly reduced my time and efforts. The website made it easy for everyone to sign-up and to see instantaneously what slots were available. The process was automatic, alleviating many hours of tedious spreadsheet maintenance and back-and-forth emails.

What’s one piece of advice you have for other volunteers out there?

I find that the key to a great volunteering experience is not only to successfully complete the assigned task but also to do it in way that treats each person with whom you interact with compassion, caring and respect....and be as friendly and helpful as possible.

We salute Ted and all the volunteer coordinators out there, making a difference in your community. If you're using VolunteerSpot, write and tell us about what you're doing and give us a chance to shine our Volunteer Spotlight on you!! Just email us at VS@volunteerspot.com.

One of the most fun things about VolunteerSpot is getting to meet with inspiring volunteer leaders in the field, such as Stephanie LeBeau of Lafayette Elementary in San Francisco, California. In addition to her role as VP of Leadership with the 2nd District of the California State PTA, Stephanie runs the Stop, Drop & Go program which provides a safe morning drop off system that serves over 100 families per day at her daughter’s urban elementary school. The program has been successfully running with 5 parent volunteers per day, rain or shine, consecutively for over 600 school days! She’s implemented this program at a few other elementary schools in the City and was awarded and thanked for school safety by the San Francisco Police Department.

Stephanie credits well-thought out and implemented communication strategies as a key ingredient of Stop, Drop and Go’s ongoing success. Whether your school is planning a similar safety program, or another program that requires a great deal of parental support (think school-wide health and fitness programs, parent-led literacy initiatives, or a new fundraiser), communicating effectively builds trust with parents and teachers and encourages continuing involvement in the school community.

6 Winning Communication Strategies

Leadership Sanctioning: Involve the principal and teacher leadership team early in program planning. Ask the principal to endorse the program’s importance and set clear expectations for parent participation in a letter to parents at the start of the year, and with ‘booster’ messages of praise and reinforcement during the year.

Elevate the Message to a Common, BIG Win: Frame messages in a way that describes how the program strengthens the community and serves ALL our kids.

Ask for Commitment: Creating a ceremonial commitment, such as a pledge, encourages parents to take ownership in the program. Teachers at Lafayette Elementary distribute a pledge form to their class parents asking them to commit to follow safe drop-off procedures. If many parents are on Facebook, a 'like' action could also be used as way for parents to show their commitment.

Make it a Process:Set clear roles, responsibilities and expectations for how the program is to operate. For example, Stop, Drop and Go has a well-documented process which includes a master schedule assigning coverage to each class two weeks a year, delegating volunteer recruiting to the room parents, a time-line with deadlines for when they are to ask for help and submit their parent volunteer schedule, and contingencies if a certain class had trouble filling spots.

Dial-in on Multiple Channels: Reach out to parents in a variety of ways, and translate key messages to their native language. It may take a few times for parents to ‘get’ the message, but keep trying in newsletters, handouts, posters, the school website and facebook page.

High Touch: Engage with as many parents as possible throughout the year. Thank them face-to-face for participating, ask them for their feedback, and recruit next year’s leaders early from your volunteer team.

Thanks to Stephanie for her leadership and for sharing her best practices. "Go Team!" We’d like to hear your communication best practices too - what works in your school or nonprofit community? Please click ‘comments’ below.

Recently, I received an email from one of my clients. She wrote, “What is the “correct” way to thank donors? Should I send thank you notes now (when I receive the item) and after the charity auction? Or just one or the other? I don’t want to be redundant, but I also don’t want to be rude.”

I thought her question was insightful on several counts.

First, I was impressed! She is a young, hip Development Director. The younger generation has manners!

Second, etiquette never goes out of style. Good manners can build your auction’s reputation for the long haul so it’s important to pay attention to these areas.

Third, this question brings us back to the human aspects of running an event. Auctions have so many “moving parts” to oversee (food & beverage, decorations, invitations, set-up, item collection, security, seating charts … ), that we can quickly forget that auctions all start with individual donors.

Think about it — fundraising auctions wouldn’t exist without donors.

The donors — not the buyers — are the people who stepped forward first to support the organization. Before the invitations were sent out … before any guest decided on what dress to wear to the gala … before anyone set up the decorations for the night .. before any of that happened, a donor stepped forward to help.

Donors start the auction process by giving a gift. That gift is given with the expectation that the non-profit will sell it to the best of their ability, thereby raising money to further the cause. What a generous gift! Hurrah for donors!

I believe you can’t thank donors enough. In another blog report, I’ll list the ways I’ve seen donors thanked. But for the down-and-dirty “correct” way (if there is such a thing), here’s what I typically see.

Usually the donor is first thanked with a quick thank you when the item is received. They are thanked again with a letter (mailed … on letterhead) after the auction is over.

Let’s dive a bit deeper.

Part 1:

The first thank you is commonly sent via email.

Now the reality is that even though you send a thank you via email, you’ll usually also have some additional contact with the donor because often the donor forms are not completed to the degree you need.

For instance, how often have you had to contact a donor to get more information on the vacation home they offered? (I.E. “Hi Jim! Thanks for the donation of your beach house. Question for you … On the form, you said that home has 4 bedrooms. But are 2 of the bedrooms filled with bunk beds, or are there actually 4 master bedrooms in this house?”) Even small donations often require follow-up.

Part 2:

When the auction is over, a more formal thank you (mailed .. on letterhead) is sent.

If the item sold well, I would include the sale price in the letter.

Write something like, “Your $2000 case of wine sold for $2500!” Oooooo … wouldn’t that make a donor feel good! When you have shown that you are taking care of your donor’s merchandise and selling it so well, that encourages the donor to trust you with bigger donations the following year. Woo whee!

If the donation sold for an average price, I suggest writing something more generic, such as, “Your donation helped NON PROFIT XYZ surpass our goal / meet our fundraising goal / was an increase over last year / etc.” It’s important to share your success with the donors.

I would also encourage you to hand-write a brief comment or sentence on the letter.

It might be: “The necklace was stunning!” or “Glad you were able to attend the event.” or “Your donation was especially nice this year.” Something personal, but sincere.

***

Benefit auctioneer Sherry Truhlar's entertaining stories and advice is often picked up by publications (e.g. Town & Country, The Washington Post Magazine, AUCTIONEER, The Eleusis, The Virginia Auctioneer) and television (e.g. E! Style, TLC) where she inspires and teaches volunteers how to hit new fundraising records in their auction galas. Enjoy her FREE Auction Item Guide (listing the 100 best-selling items to sell in your benefit auction) at http://www.RedAppleAuctions.com.